This coming season of Cornell hockey will be one of momentous celebrations. Two milestones will be reached by the close of the season for the Lynah Faithful's beloved programs. The Lady Rouge will celebrate its sapphire season with 45 years completed in its modern iteration. Our hallowed home will enter its 60th year of faithful (could I resist?) service.

Where Angels Fear to Tread will join in the celebration and recognition of both of those achievements. Those will occur throughout the season. It is another threshold reached that our contributors decided some time ago to celebrate in this most special off- and pre-season.

Faithful, take careful appraisal of the men who fill the carnelian and white's locker room this season. This writer is sure that Assistant Coach Flanagan, Associate Head Coach Syer, and Coach Schafer will have their charges do the same. When the Red takes the ice of Lawler Rink to begin the 2016-17 campaign, its players will constitute the 100th edition of Cornell hockey.

The tradition of Cornell hockey is approximately 120 years in the making. The early travails of this most adored program swindle it out of a few years of intercollegiate competition from that vibrant lifespan. Cornell hockey's resolve to endure and persevere captured always the ethic of our august University. The greats who have worn carnelian and white through 99 seasons of intercollegiate competition always represent this shared character.

This coming season's team will be the 100th team to represent Cornell hockey in intercollegiate competition. The expectations of greatness on the ice, in the classroom, and in the community fall to them as a mantle that its members must carry.

Where Angels Fear to Tread decided that it was appropriate (some viewed it as necessary) to count down the 100 greatest players in the history of Cornell hockey in the build-up and countdown to this seminal team's season.

Yes, the season is already a mere 100 (or less, depending on your time of reading) days away from now.

The season approaches quickly. Coaches Dennehy's and Schafer's clever slight of hand in splitting the games of the Red's series at Merrimack accelerated the end of the off- and pre-seasons. Cleverly, Coach Schafer avoided having the pressure of Harvard Week and The Game opening an already emotionally charged season of high expectations for Cornell hockey.

Where Angels Fear to Tread will share the image of an icon of Cornell hockey on its twitter feed each day until the official start of the season on October 29. These carnelian-and-white greats will constitute The Centenary Team.

How were members of The Centenary Team chosen? Our contributors considered the records of fan votes from several previous seasons. All-Americans from all eras warranted immediate inclusion. Enduring fan adoration beyond polls (you know, the names that you still see on sweaters during the playoffs or at Lynah Rink decades after the players's careers ended) was a strong factor. Players whose subjective contributions to the program that go far beyond on-ice product were included. Skaters and goaltenders who selflessly ensured the perpetuity of the program and its greatness leapt onto the list. The respect and love of contemporaries were always elements considered.

The ultimate list includes champions, goaltenders who changed the landscape of hockey, captains who returned as coaches (there are more than you think), some of the greatest defensemen to play the game in any era, forwards who gave the Red brilliant performances in early installments of rivalries, players who grappled just for the opportunity to represent their University, individuals whose character still inspires Cornellians, and war heroes who sacrificed for their country.

The Centenary Team neither pretends to be complete nor absolute. Like all great things among the Lynah Faithful, it is about the community and discussion. The contributors at Where Angels Fear to Tread hope that our readers, our followers, and the Faithful will use this countdown as the catalyst of sharing stories once forgotten but now stirred or learning about players from eras often undiscussed.

We all do this as we expect greatness that lives up to the precedent of The Centenary Team in the 100th edition of our team.

Author

Where Angels Fear to Tread is a blog dedicated to covering Cornell Big Red men's and women's ice hockey, two of the most storied programs in college hockey. WAFT endeavors to connect student-athletes, students, fans, and alumni to Cornell hockey and its proud traditions.